Can you be allergic to surgical steel?

Answer 1

I've had a few piercings done, all of them with surgical steel, including my tongue, lip, and belly button (twice) and each piercing got infected due to my allergy to surgical steel. If you think you might be, don't keep the ring in. My most recent piercing, getting my belly button done for the second time, was a huge mistake. My body rejected the surgical steel and ate away the top layer of skin that holds the piercing in place, so my piercing now looks as if it had been ripped out.

...not to scare anyone or anything.

The same thing happened to me! I had a navel piercing done and it was ok for almost a week, then all of a sudden it started to get red, swell and had some white pus..all the signs of an infection. I am studying to be a nurse and I had my teacher, a surgeon look at it and clean it out for me. I endured the pain of having him pull it open and clean it out. But even after that the swelling just got worst. All of a sudden it looked like the top ball was being swallowed. After attempting everything, I had to take the piercing out. It hurt my soul knowing that I had gone thru all that, but the fear of septicemia was too great.

If you have Allergies to latex and almost everything under the sun... Do Not Do This! If you do, go to an allergist to get tested for Nickel. Or use a gold ring.

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I turned out to not be that allergic to the surgical steel. mY problem was that I had pus in there all the time so I found a solution in order to keep my belly ring. What I did was used a plastic belly ring retainer and it healed in less than a week. I have been keeping it in there for almost 2 mo and it has no problems and it has no pus and the skin has dried up and gotten better inside. So that's an option some one may use.

Allergies to the nickel in surgical steel are somewhat rare, but do occur. Here is some evidence, conclusions and advice from a guy who does this kind of thing for a living...

According to the medical literature, it appears surgical steel causes problems for tissue-embedded micro devices like stents, but is does not seem to be a problem for patients with large implants such as hip replacements. Around 20% of patients in a stent study tested positive for nickel allergy and the allergy was the best predictor of stent problems.

Conclusion: Soft-tissue embedded surgical steel (e.g., piercings) can cause allergic reactions.

Closer to home... I have two friends with ear piercings that would not heal, so I did an experiment. We used over-the-counter triple antibiotic ointment alone, salt solution alone and change to a gold stud. Salt solution alone did nothing. The triple antibiotic resulted in cycles of inflammation and healing. Change to gold resulted in rapid healing with no recurrence.

Conclusion: Nickel in the surgical steel causes inflammation which may result in infection.

Advice: If you have a piercing that won't heal, switch to gold and use topical antibiotic until it heals. Try surgical steel again after healing. If redness returns, no more surgical steel for you.

Answer 2

Although surgical steel typically does not contain nickel, a common allergen, some people may still have allergies to other components in surgical steel or develop a reaction due to the presence of trace amounts of nickel. If you suspect an allergy to surgical steel, consider alternative hypoallergenic materials such as titanium or nickel-free options. Consulting with a dermatologist or allergist can help determine the specific cause of the allergic reaction.

Answer 3

Jewelry allergy is a common cause of contact allergic dermatitis. Most jewelry allergy is caused by the metal nickel (see nickel allergy) which is used in the manufacture of precious metal alloys. In less expensive jewelry, nickel is often used in the base metal which is then plated with gold or silver. Many people who believe that they are allergic to gold or silver jewelry are actually allergic to nickel, which can occur as a trace element in gold or silver or has been used in the manufacture of gold jewelry to whiten and/or strengthen the piece.

In affected individuals, dermatitis develops in places where nickel-containing metal is touching the skin. The most common sites of jewelry allergy are the earlobes , the fingers (from rings), and around the neck ; the affected areas become intensely itchy and may become red and blistered or dry, thickened and pigmented Sometimes the dermatitis later affects areas that are not in contact with jewelry, particularly the hands. Pompholyx is a blistering type of hand dermatitis that is prevalent in people with a previous history of jewelry allergy, and may be due to contact with other sources of nickel such as coins and keys.